The South Dakota Army National Guard is making some major adjustments to its organizational structure that will involve the deactivation of three units, activation of three new ones, relocation of six others in existing guard towns and the closure of the De Smet armory.
As part of the reorganization, the 153rd Forward Support Company Detachment 1 is transferring from Parkston to Huron and the 211th Engineering Company is leaving De Smet for Madison.
Public Affairs Officer Major Anthony Deiss says the restructuring and relocation changes will begin next year and will take a year or more to complete. He says the restructuring will optimize the guard’s readiness to respond to both state and federal missions.
In the long-run Deiss says the reorganization will allow the South Dakota Army Guard to maximize its resources while ensuring they have mission control across the state. Among the changes will be the deactivation of three units, including the 139th Brigade Support Battalion in Brookings as well as Companies A and B 139th Brigade Support at Watertown and Mitchell.
The overall guard strength is expected to grow by 85 soldiers when the 109th Engineering Battalion in Rapid City and the 665th Surface Maintenance Company in Mitchell are activated.
Major Deiss says that Watertown will lose 88 soldiers when the 139th Brigade Support unit is deactivated.
Other unit relocations include the 152nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion moving from Pierre to Brookings, the 115th Signal Company moving from Brookings to Sioux Falls, the 155th Engineer Company moving from Rapid City to Wagner, the 155th Engineering Company Detachment 1 moving from Wagner to Parkston.
(KXLG)